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Hebrew in America THE STEINHARDT CONTACT FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH LIFE SPRING 2011/IYAR 5771 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE STEINHARDT FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH LIFE HEBREW IN AMERICA contact FROM THE EDITOR SPRING 2011/IYAR 5771 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 2 HEBREW IN AMERICA Eli Valley n its surface, Hebrew might seem to be irrelevant to the American experience. Despite Editor America’s status as a beacon to immigrants from all parts of the world, the nation was born and persists in the English language. Even recent efforts towards bilingualism Erica Coleman focus naturally on Spanish, the language of the country’s largest contemporary Copy Editor O immigrant population. Hebrew would seem to be peripheral to the idea of America. Yakov Wisniewski And yet, from the country’s earliest inception, Hebrew was an important fabric in the tapestry of American Design Director life. Plymouth Governor William Bradford studied Hebrew, noting “a longing desire to see, with my owne eyes, something of that most ancient language, and holy tongue, in which the Law and oracles of God THE STEINHARDT were write” (Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation, Little, Brown, 1856). Several Ivy League schools FOUNDATION included Hebrew in their early curricula and insignia, and there was a movement at the founding of the FOR JEWISH LIFE Republic to incorporate Hebrew language and symbols in the nascent iconography of the nation. But in the ensuing centuries, Hebrew for the most part disappeared. American secularization, and an Michael H. Steinhardt attenuation of interest in classical studies in general, relegated Hebrew to Jewish liturgy and study. Chairman Might Hebrew make a comeback in American life? There are signs that offer hope to those who Robert P. Aronson champion a confluence of Jewish and American values. America’s enduring alliance with Israel President points to a potential receptivity to the language of the Jewish State, and the incipient growth of Rabbi David Gedzelman Hebrew language charter schools illustrate the ways in which Hebrew and the American Executive Vice President experience might intersect. Perhaps most compellingly, hundreds of thousands of American Jews have experienced Birthright Israel, and many have signaled an interest in learning Hebrew on their Rabbi Irving Greenberg return. Although it is too soon to say where their interest will lead, the community would be Founding President remiss if it does not create opportunities for Hebrew education for all who wish to learn. Jonathan J. Greenberg z”l Articles in this issue of CONTACT explore the potential of the Hebrew language in American Founding Director society. From charter schools to public schools in general to Hebrew on campus to effective CONTACT is produced and pedagogies of instruction, the essays consider methods of making Hebrew more widespread in the distributed by The Steinhardt Foundation Jewish community and beyond. Taken together, they provide a thought-provoking overview of the for Jewish Life, 6 East 39th Street, ways in which the Hebrew language might become more commonplace in American life — and, in 10th floor, New York, NY 10016. turn, more potent and inspiring in the American Jewish community. All issues of Contact are available for download at www.steinhardtfoundation.org/journal.html Individual subscriptions are free of charge and Eli Valley are provided as a service to the community. To subscribe, please send your name and IN THIS ISSUE mailing address to [email protected]. Phone: (212) 279-2288 THE POSSIBILITIES AND POTENTIAL OF HEBREW IN AMERICA Fax: (212) 279-1155 3 Rabbi David Gedzelman Email: [email protected] Website: www.steinhardtfoundation.org 5 HEBREW LANGUAGE CHARTER SCHOOLS For media inquiries about The Steinhardt Sara Berman Foundation for Jewish Life, please contact TAGLIT-BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL AND HEBREW: Dan Gerstein at [email protected]. 6 THE ERA OF DREAMERS Copyright © 2011 by Gidi Mark and Barry Chazan The Steinhardt Foundation HEBREW: A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN FOR JEWISH IDENTITY for Jewish Life. 8 Wayne L. Firestone CHARTING THE COURSE: HEBREW LANGUAGE The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life is 10 dedicated to strengthening and transform ing IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS Ameri can Jewish Life to ensure a flourishing, Anne Lanski sustainable community in a fully integrated THE HEBRAIST MOMENT IN AMERICAN JEWISH CULTURE free society. We seek to revitalize Jewish 11 AND WHAT IT HAS TO SAY TO US TODAY identity through educa tional and cultural Alan Mintz initiatives that are designed to reach out to all Jews, with an emphasis on those who RX FOR HEBREW IN AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITIES are on the margins of Jewish life, as well as to 12 Jonathan Paradise advocate for and support Hebrew and Jewish HEBREW: A LANGUAGE REBORN literacy among the general population. 13 Joel M. Hoffman STATE OF THE FIELD: HEBREW TEACHING AND LEARNING Photographs in this issue appear courtesy of 14 contributors and the Hebrew Language Academy Arnee R. Winshall Charter School. THE ROLE OF SECOND LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY 15 by Vardit Ringvald 2 C ONTAC T THE POSSIBILITIES AND POTENTIAL OF HEBREW IN AMERICA by RABBI DAVID GEDZELMAN s Nicholas Kristof recently joked in with decoding prayer-book Hebrew without In many ways, for much of Jewish his- a New York Times Op-Ed, while a much understanding. Even in the Orthodox tory the Hebrew language has encapsulated A person who speaks three languages community and in the overall day school the intimate particularity of the extended is called trilingual and a person who speaks world, where understanding of classic Jew- family that is the Jewish People. The four languages is called quadrilingual, a ish texts in their original Hebrew and Ara- Hebrew language is the music that person who speaks no foreign languages at maic is central, fluency in modern Israeli expresses the aspirations, values and ways all is customarily called — an American Hebrew is far from a given. of being of the Jewish People. Like all lan- (December 29, 2010). American culture And yet, the Hebrew language has been guages, Hebrew has an historic relationship does not seem to lend itself to encouraging an essential element of the authentic Jewish to a particular community, people or body the acquisition of multiple languages experience since the Jewish People’s Biblical politic. Unlike most languages, Hebrew lost through its educational institutions and beginnings. The fullness of Hebrew expres- its function as a spoken language as a result otherwise. It should therefore come as no sion among the Jewish People has taken of the Jewish People’s exile from the land of surprise that the Jewish educational estab- varying forms and reached different levels at Israel. Hebrew was not used as a daily lan- lishment has had great difficulty in helping different times in history. Throughout the guage of conversation and life, but rather American Jews to master the Hebrew lan- history of the Diaspora, Jews would evolve was preserved only as a medium of study guage. Americans do not seem to place new languages which would blend Hebrew and prayer, written legal discourse and rit- great value on learning languages, so why with the language of the dominant culture ual observance. With the first stirrings of should American Jews differ? Mastery of in which they lived. It is difficult to know the Jewish national movement in the mid- Hebrew among the vast majority of Jews in what percentage of Jews at any time could 19th Century, a new literary approach to America has been limited to some facility read and write Hebrew, but it is safe to Hebrew developed. As Zionism became cen- assume that all who spoke Ladino and Yid- tered on creating a new society in the land dish had an intimate familiarity with choice of Israel, a movement to reclaim Hebrew as Rabbi David Gedzelman is Executive Vice President of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life. Hebrew words and phrases. a spoken, lived language took root. SPRING 2011 3 At the center of achieving a new sover- Jews in America have little fluency in the have not seen before. The enthusiasm for eign cultural reality for the Jewish People Hebrew language. At present, the Hebrew learning Hebrew may benefit from this shift. was the renaissance and resurrection of the language functions more to separate Israe- That the Hebrew in which they are inter- spoken Hebrew language. Reclaiming the lis from American Jews than it does to ested is not immediately tied to theological language of Israel was as important to the bring us together. For most American language and liturgical contexts, but is the Zionist enterprise as was reclaiming parcels Jews, Israel remains an abstract idea. As contemporary language of modern, secular of land in Israel. In a certain Zionist view, with any culture or civilization, ignorance Israeli society, makes it that more accessible one could only fully realize oneself as a Jew of its dominant language puts one in a to a mostly secular, albeit spiritually search- if one could begin to think, dream, speak position of distance from and inaccessibil- ing, population. and sing primarily in Hebrew. Educational ity to the texture of its life. All languages develop and change over structures, especially for the very young, For Americans, a Jewish Peoplehood time. The changes they exhibit reflect the were created with the clear goal of birthing a that connects them to the culture of Israel cultural developments and understandings new generation that would speak Hebrew as cannot be achieved if they remain ignorant of those who speak them. If sizeable num- its mother tongue. The deep connection of the basic element of that culture, the bers of American Jews do not avail them- between the Hebrew language and the very Hebrew language, which also serves as the selves of expression and understanding in place names of the land of Israel created an basic element of historic Jewish civiliza- the Hebrew language, then the future devel- immediate normalcy for speaking Hebrew in tion.
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